Ministers pledge £4m to end migrant worker accommodation scandal

DODGY: It is feared many new migrants will be packed into makeshift accommodation by gangmasters [EPA]

The cash is to be shared among 23 councils deemed to have an exceptional problem.

Housing Minister Kris Hopkins announced the extra funds yesterday, two days after Bulgarian and Romanian workers gained free entry into the UK.

It is feared many new migrants will be packed into makeshift accommodation by gangmasters and dodgy employers.

In the last two years, 500 “illegally rented outhouses” have been identified and action taken against the owners.

But Mr Hopkins said: “The private rental market is still afflicted by too many unscrupulous Scrooges – landlords who rent dangerous, dirty and overcrowded properties without a thought for the welfare of their tenants.”

CRISIS: Kris Hopkins announced the extra funds two days after Bulgarian and Romanian workers gained free entry into the UK [GETTY]

“The private rental market is still afflicted by too many unscrupulous Scrooges – landlords who rent dangerous, dirty and overcrowded properties without a thought for the welfare of their tenants”

Housing Minister Kris Hopkins

The councils will form special action teams which will be sent in to suspect areas to deal with the problem. Prime Minister David Cameron witnessed the menace last month when he visited a squalid property in Southall, west London, after a raid by officials.

The makeshift building, thrown up in a back garden, had been used by 14 people squeezed into three rooms.

Among the councils who will get the cash are Barnsley, Bolton, Sheffield, Derby, Nottingham, Boston, The Fenlands and Lewisham, south-east London.

DESTINATION UK: A coach brings Romanians from Bucharest to London [JONATHAN BUCKMASTER]

Meanwhile, Bulgarian politician Nikolay Mladenov has slammed fears that thousands of Romanians and Bulgarians will flood the country as “mass hysteria” driven by far-right politicians.

But Ukip deputy leader Paul Nuttall last night blasted his comments, saying: “This is about looking after people in the UK desperately seeking employment rather than opening up the few jobs on offer to people from across Europe.”